At least respect my dad if not me: Shahid Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor is amused that his father Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut "Mausam" is being likened to Tom Cruise's "Top Gun" just because he plays an air force officer in the film.

"I am relatively new to the industry but at least respect my dad's credibility as a film personality. 'Mausam', which actually is a working title, has nothing to do with 'Top Gun' except for the fact that Tom Cruise played the role of a naval flight officer while in 'Mausam' I play an air force officer, " Shahid told.

"Other than that, there is no similarity whatsoever since my dad has written an entirely original story and screenplay of the film, " he said.

The young actor says his father's credibility should be kept in mind by those floating rumours that "Mausam" is a remake of "Top Gun".

"My father's career spans more than 25 years and he has been known for his original work even as an actor. This is the reason why he has acted in only 35-odd movies despite getting so much critical acclaim. Do you think that for his own film as a director, he would end up remaking another film, " he said.

"I don't know how someone just picked the Tom Cruise angle just because I play a uniformed officer in my film. On the contrary, 'Mausam' is a love story, " said Shahid.

The leading lady of this 'love story' has not yet been decided, but work is on to get the entire pre-production in place for "Mausam", which will go on floors in April.

"I am glad that I have full two months to prepare for the role. I have a lot of time now to give to the film and since I am not working on anything else in the interim, I have requested dad that he allow me to work on some other departments in the film as well.

"I am quite interested in contributing to 'Mausam' other than just being an actor and I am sure dad would be sympathetic enough to give me an opportunity."

Shahid is not signing up for any other new film. So will it be only one film at a time from now on?

"That's not really the case. Also, it's not that just because it is dad's film, I am giving it any extra attention. 'Mausam' is the kind of film that an actor should be doing in a single stretch without working on anything else.

"The script is such that as an actor, I have to dedicate all my time and presence to it. It's more to do with the subject and the character than anything else and you'll see it for yourself once the film releases, " he said.

Shahid would next be seen in Ahmed Khan's "Paathshaala", which releases in April, "Milenge Milenge" with Kareena Kapoor in the same month and Parmeet Sethi's directorial debut for Yash Raj Films in June.